“Rosalyn.” She’s looking at the ceiling, studying it as if searching for something.
“I know, you said that. But where did you come from? Why are you here?”
She stops in front of the window and peers outside. “Oh, yes. I’m a prisoner. Like you. Three floors above you, I have the entire top floor.”
“How did you get down here?” I move a little closer to her and notice that her feet are bare.
“There aren’t any locks that can contain me. I got tired of waiting for the guards to make our introduction.” She finally turns to me. “Anya, is it?”
“Yes.” Somehow, I’m not surprised that she knows my name.
She cocks her head to the side as if she’s studying me. “You’re friends with the false princess.”
I blink a few times, taking in her words. It’s not a question, but itfeelslike a question. “Yes.”
“She’s in trouble, you know.” She resumes her pacing, moving slowing around the space, looking at the walls and ceiling as if she might find something of interest.
I tense. “What do you mean? Did something happen?”
Roselyn stops, then faces me. “Not yet. But it will.”
Someone pounds on my door, then it swings open. The guard holding a plate of food stills, his eyes going wide when he sees Rosalyn. “You—you aren’t supposed to be here.”
“I told them I wanted some company.”
The plate shakes in his grip. “Did you…are they…?”
“No, I didn’t kill them this time. I like these guards, even if they’re incompetent.” She shrugs.
Chills run down my arms. What is happening? Who is this woman?
“Are you going to stand there all night?” Rosalyn asks.
“No.” He sets the plate on the ground. “Would you like me to bring your dinner here?”
“Please.”
The guard inclines his head, but he’s still shaking when he closes and latches the door.
Rosalyn picks up my plate and walks over to the small table near the window. She sets it down, then rests her hands on her hips as she stares at the chair. “This won’t do at all.”
I’m standing against the wall, not sure how to respond. She looks so fragile and timid. Her mannerisms are delicate and her voice sweet and calm. It’s like she’s designed to lure you in with a false sense of security. If not for the way the guard reacted, I would have thought my instincts warning me against her were a result of being in captivity.
She opens the door without issue. I know I heard the lock, but apparently, she wasn’t exaggerating when she said locksdon’t work for her. “Bring another chair, will you? I’d like to enjoy my meal with my new friend.”
A moment later, another guard strides in, a chair in his arms. He keeps his eyes down as he passes her, then drops the chair next to the other at the tiny wood table.
“Thank you,” Roselyn says.
He inclines his head, then hurries from the room. The first guard arrives just then, a tray with a silver cover atop a plate, two crystal glasses and a bottle of wine.
“You even brought an extra glass. Well done,” she says as if she’s praising a child.
He sets the tray down, then removes the cover before leaving the room. When he closes the door, I hear it latch again, but I’m not sure why.
Then I realize it’s locking me in the room.
There’s a shrieking sound coming from outside that sends all the hairs on my body on edge. “What was that?”
